Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-11-04

Have vow read thsm ~
mot one"
"How, then, do you know :"
81 know because know. IL Is part OF
the Wisdom Of the Ancient Way to dlstln
guish between truth and talsehood. How
many of them have you read yourself, Mr.
! Brudenei You do not reply. Not one.
You have tnrned over PAGES which you
could not understand You have not read
one. Burn your library, Mr.. Brudenel
| Burn It all"
''Burn my unrivaled collections Sir,
you presume too far, would have you to
| know"
you have not read one single book
Mr.. Brudenel. You know nothing OF the
subject. Here is a book which processes
| to show you how to raise spirits" He
took volume from The shelves. "Do you
know the methodY Have you ever tried
to raise IL spirit? Here is another book
which teaches you how to find tho Phil
osopher's Stone. Have you found it ?
Here are the secrets of Astrology. Can
you cast nativity ?'
"But-but-do you pretend that the
claims of all the mediTVal philosophers
have been baSeless p
mot quite baselesS In the same way
the modern sO-called Occult Philosophers
and EsOteriC Buddhists are not baselesS.
Their pretensions rest on the fragments
which were brought to the East from
Syria. So the pretensiOus of the medT-
val seekers rest upon the fragments pre-
served by the learned Jews of Spain and
Morocco, and handed down from father to
son. But IN Abyssinia we have the per
feet book the kings own book: brought
to us by Prince Menelek"
at is something to he told that we have
Fragments SAID Mr.. Brudenel colby.
"N es you have fragments. They have
enabled you to get a little way, but yOu
can get no farther. Consider! You have
been a seeker for thirty years, and what
do you know now, more than you knew
when first you began ~
There are some who think we have
| made great advances"
"Nou have d. no advance at all, ~
said Herr PtulUs firmly; and if you con
! tlnue in your present line you will make
no further advance"
After ALL" the Leader objected, but
without much force, zone cannot over
throw the fabric of thirty years on the
| dictum of a strange youth"
Fabric I" Herr Paulus drew himself
up and assumed the aspect of one who
teaches and admonishes. Fabric What
! fabric You have none. You have not
even the dream, the slmulacrum, the de
ceptiVe image of fabric. In your
| thoughts at this moment ! read the secret
CONSCIOUSNESS of failure. Confess Fail
ure. Your whole life has been failure.
You have been buoyed up by false hopes
! you nay IIuSltI III one lIll pUSltT dIleT lnt
other. Deceptions have met you at every
turn. Confess. Your whole life has been
a failure. You have nothing solid-noth-
ing-nothing. Confess"
His dark eyes flashed, his accent was
stern, his forefn0er was menacing. Heard
any one ever before of leader thus re
| buked His aspect was severe. Mr.. Brude-
| mel turned away, as if afraid to meet those
| eyes, and hung his head and stammered
something about the JOY of research. But
IL was very feeble,
Your lie has been failure, and you
| know it and feel it, Confess. Look in my
| fuce-look at me. Sof Mr.. Brudene
obeyed slowly and unwllngly, as if he
was compelled He raised his eyes and
met the steady, fervent gaze of the mas
tertul young man. Confess all that is in
| your mind"
Mr.. Brudenel sunk into a caair. All his
| dignity was gone and his stif1ening. He
collapsed. And still his eyes were fixed
and held by those OF his guest.
| Il do confess" he said MY life has
been failure For long years ] have
known it, but | was ashsmed to acknowl
edge it. And | was surprised by believers
who looked up to me. Had confessed the
! truth, it would have been a dreadful blow
to my wife and to everybody. Every year
| have feltt more and more. | have lost
my self-respect. have been wretched
humbug, pretending to believe. | have
come here, every morning, pretending tC
study, but in reality to read novels and to
forget the cant of the Sprltualists."
at is enough. Say no more Own, how
eyer, that | read your thoughts rightly
| Mr.. Brudenel, the power OF those eyes
removed, began TO recover little. He
sat up in his chair and put up his glasses.
Il have told you, Herr Paulus,n he said
what never thought to tell any man
You have the secret of my life. Respect
it, ST."
Indeed, Mr.. Bridenel, | had the secret
of your life, before. Do not doubt that
shall respect it."
II am glad to have told you. Now you
know all, and there is no longer any oc
casion tor Us two to talk Shout the phe-
nomena. Perhaps, some day, you will
| tell me how you did the things last night.
| seem to know how most of them do their
tricks, but yours | confess"
You are terribly wrong-most terribly
wrong, Mr. Brudenel. If | have been sent
to you in your hour of deepest detection
it was not only TO tell you that your eff
! forts have been uuavaillng, nor was it to
| perform tricks"
1.-The time was" the leader continued
without listening to this interruption
''when | rejoced in my researches, and
looked joytully forward to the fuller light
which was to come Alas that time
| has now gone, and | have nothing but
regrets thai | have thrown away my life
among enthusiasts and common cheats.
confessed to you, Herr Paulus, because
you compelled me. That is done, Go
on and frighten the women, and come
here when You please to laugh at the
| whole business with me-"
Again, it is not my object to brighten
the women and to laugh with you. Your
past life is done with But a new life
| begins if you wish for some splendid
ION, how am | to trust any one ?" cried
Mr., Brudenel, helplessly. II want no
new life, man. Henceforth, / will 90 on
| like the rest Of mankind. | shall cease to
inquire into the other world. | shall go
to church with my wife and the girls,
No new splendour for me, thank you.
! have done with it all.
lie threw out his arms with an express
! sive gesture.
Done with it, Herr Paulus. Done with
it, ay."
Permit me, Mr.. Brudenel. | read in
your lOoks-nay in your mind read
your detection last night. You expected
nothing but to be bored. Then you were
surprised out of yourself. Then you ex.
pressed what you felt at the momeut but
this morning another cold wave of doubt
| hne, Fall ND,, L.